In case of conviction, the maximum punishment for an offense of this kind — defacing the flag — is a fine not exceeding $250, or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both.
If the Mine Owners' Association had so much love and reverence for our flag as they professed, it would seem that they should have been anxious to try Mr. Moyer, and, if possible, secure a conviction against him. This was not at all their program.
Mr. Moyer furnished bond, and was released by the civil authorities on March 30th, 1904, However, the
132 The Pinkerton Labor Spy.
instant after he had obtained his liberty in this manner, he was seized by the militia and thrown into the bull pen, where he was kept for many weeks under heavy guard in solitary confinement. The only reason the military would give for the arrest and imprisonment of President Moyer was, "Military Necessity 1" Our flag, which every American citizen would gladly protect, with his fortune and his life, was desecrated and dishonored by the governor of Colorado, his soldiers and the mine owners, by being made to serve as a base decoy for unlawfully depriving an innocent man of his liberty.